


Stay

by Signsofsam



Series: Make You Feel (My Love) [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, The continuing redemption of Jaime Lannister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 09:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19059649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signsofsam/pseuds/Signsofsam
Summary: “Please, Brienne,” he whispers, basically begs. “Just let me go.”“No.”“Why in the seven hells not?”“Because for some reason, I think you deserve better, and I’m going to fight for you, since you don’t seem to see it yourself. Come back to bed.”





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I wrote a thing. A short, little thing, but a thing nonetheless. I haven't written anything in literal years, but I guess season 8 and the trashing of so many story arcs was good for something. Enjoy, review if you want (but please, be kind; did you see the _I haven't written in years_ freakout?!?), and bask in the joy of yet another Jaime/Brienne fix-it.

“You’re not like your sister. You’re not. You’re a good man and you can’t save her.” Her hands cradle his face, forcing him to look at her. Even in the dark, he knows those eyes, blue like sapphires, like the waters around Tarth; he knows that she’s heartbroken, and that he’s the one that put that look on her face. “You don’t need to die with her. Stay here. Stay with me. Please.” The plea is barely above a whisper. “Stay.”

“You think I’m a good man.” He wants to scoff, but this is _Brienne_ , and he’s pretty sure he loves her, though he doesn’t deserve it, or her. “I pushed a boy out a tower window, crippled him for life, for Cersei. I strangled my cousin with my own hands just to get back to Cersei. I would have murdered every man, woman, and child in Riverrun, for Cersei. She’s hateful, and so am I.”

He’s pulled away from her by then, and moves to get on his horse while she’s still watching him with shock and horror and now she can see what kind of man he is, and that she deserves more, she deserves better. She deserves more than the Kingslayer, the sister fucker, the hateful man he is.

“You’re hateful?” she calls out, and he stops, turns back to her, frozen in place as she straightens, determination-and he knows what determination looks like on her-taking over the shock, the sadness. “You saved me from a bear. You saved me from being raped. You made a promise to Catelyn Stark, and you allowed me to leave to fulfill that promise. You fought for humanity when your sister wouldn’t, knowing there was no help coming. You came here knowing that you would probably die, that you would be judged on your past deeds, but you came anyway. You made me a knight. You didn’t do that for Cersei. You didn’t do any of that for her. You may have started out as her hateful other half, but you are more than that now, Jaime. You are more than that person; you are your own man. Please, stay here. Stay with me. Come back to bed, and keep being him.”

She holds her hand out, and all he can think is _she’s going to freeze out here. She isn’t wearing gloves._ But she holds steady-both her hand and her eyes, focused on him-and not for the first time, he doubts himself, doubts his decision to go back to Cersei.. “I-Brienne. I have to go. Don’t you understand that? I have-”

“You have to die? Because that’s going to happen if you go, and it’ll be a waste. It will be a waste of a good man on a woman who has lied to him, manipulated him, betrayed him. It’ll be a waste of this path of redemption that you’ve started.”

Something inside him, something hard he’s built up as he’s pushed himself to leave, to go back, cracks at her words ( _because they’re true_ , another part of him, hidden and merciless, says) and he falters again. “Please, Brienne,” he whispers, basically begs. “Just let me go.”

“No.”

“Why in the seven hells not?”

“Because for some reason, I think you deserve better, and I’m going to fight for you, since you don’t seem to see it yourself. _Come back to bed_.”

Her hand has yet to waver, steady even through the cold, and whatever’s left of the wall inside him that’s pushing him to go, to turn back towards the person he once was, splinters and implodes. There’s a woman in front of him that wants him to be better, that thinks he can,...how can he leave her? How can he think of leaving her, and the promise of what may come?

He can’t.

He slides off his horse, grabbing her hand in his own and pulling her towards him. “You’re an idiot for being out here without gloves.”

She laughs, and it warms him. “You’re an idiot for making me come out in the cold.” Brienne kisses him, soft and slow, pulling away to press her forehead against his. “You’ll stay, then?”

“For as long as you’ll have me,” he promises. “I...you’re right. I’ve come too far to go back to her. I’m too different from the man that left King’s Landing. I just couldn’t see it on my own.”

She smiles, and leads him back inside, up to her room. In the morning, he’ll face his guilt (because there will be guilt), and his regret (because he could have-he did-hurt the woman who thought so much of him, the woman he may- _did-_ love), but he’ll do it with Brienne at his side. For now, he stays, and that's all that really matters.


End file.
